On the banks of the Yishui River, the river surface is covered with thick snow, and the direction of the river can only be seen by relying on the snow-covered reeds on the shore.

Yuan Tan wrapped his cloak tightly, but still couldn't stop the biting cold wind. The wind was blowing snow foam, making his face hurt. His feet were like needles, and there was no heat at all. The iron armor on his body was frozen and heavier, and even through the thick battle robe, he could feel the chill.

"It's so cold here." Yuan Tan stomped his feet and said to He Yong beside him: "Mr. He, don't get cold here, go back to the car and sit."

He Yong smiled as if nothing had happened. "It's okay, although I'm old, I can still withstand the freezing. What's this cold? The grassland is really cold. According to the Xianbei people, even in the cold winter, I can freeze it even in the twelfth month."

Yuan Tan laughed "puchi", then felt that it was inappropriate again, so he quickly put away his smile and sighed. "Thank you for those Yuan women, who have been spoiled since childhood, but now they have to suffer such a strange pain, leaving home thousands of miles to join the barbarians."

"If you know that they are suffering, you can't give up." He Yong shook his shoulders. "Xiansi, I know you are under a lot of pressure, but you are not the one who is under a lot of pressure. The emperor of Chang'an is almost the same. If you want to seize the world, it is not easy for him to defend the world. It depends on who can persevere until the end."

Yuan Tan sighed. "I was afraid that the snipe and clam fight, but I let Sun Bofu be a fisherman. He must be very comfortable fishing in Taihu Lake now." He paused and said, "The people from the Zhen family should have arrived in Taihu Lake, right?"

He Yong smiled bitterly. "You don't have to worry about Xianyi, he will understand your difficulties."

Yuan Tan smiled and turned back. Zhang Hong traveled south with fifty or sixty horses and twenty-three people. The goal was so big, of course it was impossible to pass by quietly. Besides, Zhang Hong did not intend to hide his whereabouts. He had received the news a long time ago, but what could he do? Zhen Yan was captured and was detained in Runan. The Zhen family asked Yuan Tan several times, and Yuan Xi appeared to redeem Zhen Yan. There was no adult man in the Zhen family, and Zhen Yan was indispensable. They also knew this, but they really couldn't afford to redeem Zhen Yan, so the Zhen family could only solve the problem by themselves.

This is equivalent to giving up the Zhen family and giving up northern Hebei. They all know how serious the consequences are. Yuan Xi's anger has become a less important issue. The only benefit of doing so is to appease the family in southern Hebei and regain their support. Otherwise, the pension of tens of thousands of soldiers would be enough to make Yuan Tan bankrupt, let alone recruit people to defend themselves again.

Guo Tu, who was responsible for contacting the Hebei family, was excluded by the Hebei family. Yuan Tan had no choice but to arrange for him to act as an envoy to go to the grassland to contact the Huns, Xianbei people, and Wuhuan people, hoping that they could still support the Yuan family and fight for Hebei. Especially in the face of Zhang Ze, the governor of Youzhou who was eyeing him, it would be impossible to achieve without enough cavalry.

The Hu people were greedy, and Guo Tu took almost every golden cake. I don’t know if it was enough, and whether it could impress the Hu leaders. In the battle of Guandu, the Hu cavalry suffered heavy losses. Yu Fuluo and Tadun were killed, making all the knight leaders Tan Sun fearless. Shortly after returning to Jizhou, they hurriedly left and returned to their respective stations. Yuan Tan was not sure whether they could still be invited back. Not long ago, the Huns heard news that Niu Fu led his troops north and there was a possibility of attacking the Meiji royal court. The Huns were too busy to take care of themselves and could not send troops to help.

This is the case with the Huns, the Wuhuans and the Xianbeis. Yuan Tan had already received the news, and Zhang put a lot of effort into coercion and temptation of these Hu people. With the Hu city in hand, the Hu people dared not refuse his request, otherwise it would be difficult to endure this winter. Without the Central Plains' products, survival on the grassland was extremely difficult.

Now all he can count on is Liu He. Liu He is the son of Liu Yu, and many people in Youzhou still support him, including the Hu people. He made an appointment with Liu He to meet here, but after waiting for a long time, he still didn't see Liu He's shadow. I don't know if Liu He was delayed or did not want to see him.

He Yong suddenly pulled Yuan Tan's cloak and signaled him to look in the distance. Yuan Tan turned his head and saw dozens of riders rushing towards the vast snow in the distance, and the horse's hooves kicked up snow like a large ball of rapidly moving snowballs. Yuan Tan was happy, stopped and reorganized his appearance.

Zhang He rode his horse to meet him, and the people in the future were led to Yuan Tan. Liu He turned over and dismounted, walked over with great strides, first bowed to He Yong, and then greeted Yuan Tan and apologized repeatedly. "I just received the edict yesterday, and it was delayed, otherwise I would have arrived at noon."

Yuan Tan said it was okay. He was more concerned about the content of the edict. "What is it in the edict?"

Liu He bared his teeth and rubbed his hands. "The carriage said? It's too cold outside."

Yuan Tan suddenly realized and quickly asked Liu He to get into the car and took out the warm wine. Although the carriage was spacious, the three of them were still a little crowded. Liu He took off his bearskin cloak and became looser. He drank two glasses of wine before smacking his lips. "Xian Si, the situation may be not very good, you must be mentally prepared."

Yuan Tan's heart tightened, but his face remained calm. "It's already like this, how can it go wrong? You just say it's okay."

"The court may want to marry Sun Ce."

"Marriage?" Yuan Tan pondered for a moment. "Would you marry Sun Ce's sister as the queen, or marry the princess and Sun Ce as wife?"

"None of them are, they marry the eldest princess to Sun Ce as a concubine."

Yuan Tan raised his eyelids, his eyes twitched twice, and he wanted to laugh twice, but he didn't laugh. He thought the court would bow to Sun Ce, but he didn't expect the court to bow to this way, and the eldest princess actually wanted to marry Sun Ce as a concubine. This means that the court did not have the courage to compete with Sun Ce at all, which means that the court made a decision quickly, and Yuan Shao's crimes could not be forgiven.

For Jizhou, this is undoubtedly a blow. Once the edict arrives, more people will give up on him.

"Who is the messenger?" He Yong said: "This is not the content of the edict, right?"

"The envoy is Taichang Zhongfu, and Mr. He should have heard of it. This news was told by him, not in the edict. Now it is still speculation, but the court's wishes are very firm. Whether it can be achieved depends on whether Sun Ce is willing to give money."

He Yong was a little impatient. "What exactly did the edict say?"

Liu He looked at Yuan Tan and He Yong, his eyes were cold. "The emperor summoned the royal family to the capital to rebuild his clan and might keep me in Chang'an."

Yuan Tan frowned and turned his head out the window. His eyes turned, he saw his face in the glass window, and saw the pain and despair that could not be concealed in his eyes. Although Liu He came to meet according to the agreement, he knew that this might be the last time. The imperial court transferred Liu He to the capital to be more than just a clan-cultural relic. He was to force him to bow down and accept his fate. Otherwise, Zhang would lead the Youzhou Jingqi to launch an attack and transfer Liu He away, in order to comfort Gongsun Zan in exchange for Gongsun Zan's service.

He Yong kicked Yuan Tan in the foot calmly. "Gongheng, when will you leave?"

Liu He's eyes swept around Yuan Tan and He Yong's face, and hesitated for a while. "Mr. He thinks... should I go?"

He Yong smiled. "Why do you have to go or not? It's up to you to decide. Why do you ask me instead? Gongheng, do you have any concerns?"

Liu He gritted his teeth. "The hatred of killing his father is irreconcilable. The court now only asks about interests, not right and wrong. He summons me to Chang'an just to appease Gongsun Zan. If I don't kill Gongsun Zan, what can I do if I make a great achievements? But I think..." Liu He turned to Yuan Tan and said word by word: "What will you do if the court refuses to pardon Lingzun?"

Yuan Tan saw Liu He's eyes in the glass window. He was a little surprised and turned to look at Liu He. "Gongheng, are you going to... make a gamble?"

"Yes, what about you, do you dare to fight?"

Yuan Tan's eyes twitched twice and slowly sat up. "How to fight?"

"Kill Zhang Ze and Gongsun Zan, I will be the governor of Youzhou. We will join forces to compete with Sun Ce for another time."

Yuan Tan and He Yong exchanged glances and smiled at the same time. "Very good!" Yuan Tan grabbed Liu He's hand and shook it hard. "Gongheng, I've been waiting for you for two months."

Liu He was a little embarrassed and scratched his head. "Brother Xiansi, it's not that I'm hesitating. I really hope that the court will uphold justice, but the court has already done so. I'm afraid I can't count on it anymore. I have to go all out and fight behind my back. To be honest, I have contacted my father's old official. Even if it's inconvenient for you, I will still compete with Gongsun Zan. With your help, I will be more confident."

Yuan Tan was overjoyed and his heart beat faster. After the autumn harvest in August, the food was replenished. He moved his troops north and stationed troops in Hejian to prevent the Youzhou troops from going south. He kept encouraging Liu He to join forces with him and attack Gongsun Zan, but Liu He refused again and again. Now that the court summoned Liu He to Beijing, Liu He finally made up his mind. If Zhang Ze and Gongsun Zan can be successfully killed and Liu He will occupy Youzhou, the situation will be greatly improved, at least he will not be attacked from all sides.

Yuan Tan immediately invited Liu He to the camp to discuss the major plan together. Liu He happily obeyed. After returning to the camp, Yuan Tan invited Ju Su, told him Liu He's decision, and asked him to plan a strategy. Ju Su asked Liu He's deployment in Qing Dynasty and asked a question.

"What are you going to do with Liu Bei?"

Liu He had already considered it. "Liu Bei was fond of his righteousness when he saw profit. Although he was with Gongsun Zan, he had no friendship. He changed his family many times, but Gongsun Zan did not trust him. However, this person is good at winning people's hearts and seeking fame. He is also from Zhuo County, and he is quite popular. The generals under his command are brave and should not make enemies. I want to use profit to tempt him and make them stand together as much as possible. After defeating Zhang Ze and Gongsun Zan, it will be determined according to the situation."

"So, are you going to raid?"

"Yes, I plan to lure Gongsun Zan." Liu He said his thoughts. The imperial edict came to Youzhou. He resigned according to the edict. Before leaving Youzhou, he went to the prefecture to resign to Zhang Ze. Liu Yu's former officials would cooperate with him to control Zhang Ze in one fell swoop, and then summon Gongsun Zan to discuss matters in the name of Zhang Ze. If Gongsun Zan came, it would be best if the ambush was with him, no matter how brave Gongsun Zan was, he would not escape death. If Gongsun Zan did not come, he would send troops to attack Gongsun Zan in the name of Zhang Ze. At the same time, Yuan Tan led the Jizhou army to attack Gongsun Zan in one battle.

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Chapter completed!